Computer input device with digit support and natural position actuators

ABSTRACT

A mouse has sufficient width to support the distal phalanges of a user&#39;s ring finger and little finger while the user&#39;s middle finger is positioned over a secondary button of the mouse. The mouse also provides at least one side button positioned so that it is not contacted by the user&#39;s thumb during “pinching” of the mouse but is easily accessible by the user&#39;s thumb. In addition, the mouse provides a wheel with a large number of ribs that increase friction between the user&#39;s finger and the wheel.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to a U.S. Utility Patent application filedon Sep. 14, 1998, having Ser. No. 09/153,148, entitled “INPUT DEVICEWITH FORWARD/BACKWARD CONTROL”, and owned by a common assignee with thepresent application.

This application is related to a group of seven U.S. Design Patentapplications filed on even date herewith, owned by the assignee of thepresent application and entitled “Computer Input Device”. The six otherU.S. Design Patent applications are identified by respective Ser. Nos.29/102,984, 29/102,983, 29/102,986, 29/102,985 29/102,989, 29/103,019and 29/103,003.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to computer input devices. In particular,the present invention relates to computer mice.

With the growing popularity of graphical computer interfaces such as theinterface provided by Windows 98® from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond,Wash., computer mice have become an important tool for interacting withcomputers. Even so, little work has been done to investigate how toimprove mice to minimize user hand fatigue while maximizing useraccuracy in positioning a cursor on the screen.

For example, current computer mice do not provide enough support to thelittle finger and ring fingers of computer users. In particular, thereare no mice of the prior art that provide vertical support to the distalphalanges (i.e., finger tips) of a user's ring finger and little fingerwhen the user has their index finger and their middle finger positionedover the primary and secondary mouse buttons, respectively. Instead,when a user grasps a mouse with their middle finger positioned over thesecondary button, their ring finger is used to “pinch” the substantiallyvertical sides of the mouse and their little finger is left to dragacross the work surface.

Some mice of the prior art provide support for the ring finger, but onlyif the user positions the ring finger over the secondary button. In mostcases, this positioning causes the user to flex both their middle fingerand their ring finger to actuate the secondary button.

Because of the increasing importance of mice, manufactures have recentlybegun to add more actuators to their mice. In particular, manufacturershave added actuators on the sides of their mice. These actuators takethe form of side buttons that are depressed by the user's thumb. Currentdesigns for such side buttons have emphasized placing the side buttondirectly under the user's thumb, much like the top buttons arepositioned beneath the user's fingers. Although this natural designmakes it easy to actuate the button, it interferes with “pinching” themouse during mouse movements.

Mice manufacturers have also begun to include depressible and rotatablewheels on the top of their mice to perform scrolling functions. Thesurface of such wheels have generally been smooth or populated by widelyspaced bumps or ridges. Although such designs have provided adequateperformance, they do not provide an optimal amount of surface frictionfor rolling.

Thus, an improved mouse is needed that provides support to the user'shand and fingers while allowing pinching of the mouse and actuation ofthe buttons of the mouse. In addition, a mouse wheel is needed withimproved friction between the user's finger and the wheel.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A mouse has sufficient width to support the distal phalanges of a user'sring finger and little finger while the user's middle finger ispositioned over a secondary button of the mouse. The mouse also providesat least one side button positioned so that it is not contacted by theuser's thumb during “pinching” of the mouse but is easily accessible bythe user's thumb. In addition, the mouse provides a wheel with a largenumber of ribs that increase friction between the user's finger and thewheel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a general computing environment for the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a mouse of the present invention with ahand shown gripping the mouse.

FIG. 3 is a second perspective view of a mouse of the present inventionwith a hand shown gripping the mouse.

FIG. 4 is a top view of a mouse of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a mouse of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a side view of a mouse of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a second side view of a mouse of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a side view of a wheel of the present invention in isolation.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged side view of the wheel of FIG. 8 showing the ribsof the wheel.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 and the related discussion are intended to provide a brief,general description of a suitable computing environment in which theinvention may be implemented. Although not required, the invention willbe described, at least in part, in the general context ofcomputer-executable instructions, such as program modules, beingexecuted by a personal computer. Generally, program modules includeroutine programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. thatperform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types.Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the inventionmay be practiced with other computer system configurations, includinghand-held devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based orprogrammable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframecomputers, and the like. The invention may also be practiced indistributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remoteprocessing devices that are linked through a communications network. Ina distributed computing environment, program modules may be located inboth local and remote memory storage devices.

With reference to FIG. 1, an exemplary system for implementing theinvention includes a general purpose computing device in the form of aconventional personal computer 20, including a processing unit (CPU) 21,a system memory 22, and a system bus 23 that couples various systemcomponents including the system memory 22 to the processing unit 21. Thesystem bus 23 may be any of several types of bus structures including amemory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus usingany of a variety of bus architectures. The system memory 22 includesread only memory (ROM) 24 and random access memory (RAM) 25. A basicinput/output (BIOS) 26, containing the basic routine that helps totransfer information between elements within the personal computer 20,such as during start-up, is stored in ROM 24. The personal computer 20further includes a hard disk drive 27 for reading from and writing to ahard disk (not shown), a magnetic disk drive 28 for reading from orwriting to removable magnetic disk 29, and an optical disk drive 30 forreading from or writing to a removable optical disk 31 such as a CD ROMor other optical media. The hard disk drive 27, magnetic disk drive 28,and optical disk drive 30 are connected to the system bus 23 by a harddisk drive interface 32, magnetic disk drive interface 33, and anoptical drive interface 34, respectively. The drives and the associatedcomputer-readable media provide nonvolatile storage of computer readableinstructions, data structures, program modules and other data for thepersonal computer 20.

Although the exemplary environment described herein employs the harddisk, the removable magnetic disk 29 and the removable optical disk 31,it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other types ofcomputer readable media which can store data that is accessible by acomputer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, digital videodisks, Bernoulli cartridges, random access memories (RAMs), read onlymemory (ROM), and the like, may also be used in the exemplary operatingenvironment.

A number of program modules may be stored on the hard disk, magneticdisk 29, optical disk 31, ROM 24 or RAM 25, including an operatingsystem 35, one or more application programs 36, other program modules37, and program data 38. A user may enter commands and information intothe personal computer 20 through local input devices such as a keyboard40, pointing device 42 and a microphone 43. Other input devices (notshown) may include a joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, or thelike. These and other input devices are often connected to theprocessing unit 21 through a serial port interface 46 that is coupled tothe system bus 23, but may be connected by other interfaces, such as asound card, a parallel port, a game port or a universal serial bus(USB). A monitor 47 or other type of display device is also connected tothe system bus 23 via an interface, such as a video adapter 48. Inaddition to the monitor 47, personal computers may typically includeother peripheral output devices, such as a speaker 45 and printers (notshown).

The personal computer 20 may operate in a networked environment usinglogic connections to one or more remote computers, such as a remotecomputer 49. The remote computer 49 may be another personal computer, ahand-held device, a server, a router, a network PC, a peer device orother network node, and typically includes many or all of the elementsdescribed above relative to the personal computer 20, although only amemory storage device 50 has been illustrated in FIG. 1. The logicconnections depicted in FIG. 1 include a local area network (LAN) 51 anda wide area network (WAN) 52. Such networking environments arecommonplace in offices, enterprise-wide computer network Intranets, andthe Internet.

When used in a LAN networking environment, the personal computer 20 isconnected to the local area network 51 through a network interface oradapter 53. When used in a WAN networking environment, the personalcomputer 20 typically includes a modem 54 or other means forestablishing communications over the wide area network 52, such as theInternet. The modem 54, which may be internal or external, is connectedto the system bus 23 via the serial port interface 46. In a networkenvironment, program modules depicted relative to the personal computer20, or portions thereof, may be stored in the remote memory storagedevices. It will be appreciated that the network connections shown areexemplary and other means of establishing a communications link betweenthe computers may be used. For example, a wireless communication linkmay be established between one or more portions of the network.

In embodiments of the present invention, pointing device 42 is a mousesuch as mouse 100 of FIGS. 2 through 7. FIG. 2 provides a perspectiveview of mouse 100 with a user's hand superimposed over the mouse to showthe general alignment of the mouse's features with the user's hand. FIG.3 provides a rear perspective view of mouse 100 also with a user's handsuperimposed over the mouse.

In FIGS. 2 and 3, mouse 100 includes a primary button 102, a secondarybutton 104, and a depressible and rotatable wheel 106. For the buttonsand the depressible wheel, respective switches connected to the buttonsand wheel are closed when the button or wheel is depressed. In oneembodiment, the outer surface of wheel 106 is made of an elastomericmaterial such as Santoprene or Krayton.

Mouse 100 also includes a casing 118 having a metacarpophalangeal ridge(MCPR) support 114 that extends under the metacarpophalangeal ridge ofthe user's hand from the index finger to the little finger. As a generaldefinition, the metacarpophalangeal ridge is the junction between themetacarpal bones of the hand and the proximal phalanges of the fingers.

In FIG. 2, mouse 100 can also be seen to include a forward side button108 a rear side button 110, and a thumb “pinching” area 112 locatedbeneath side buttons 108 and 110. FIG. 3 shows that mouse 100 alsoincludes a support slope 116 that provides a sloping surface to supportthe respective distal phalanges 117 and 119 of the ring finger andlittle finger of the user while the user's middle finger is positionedover secondary button 104. Note that in prior art mice, the right sideof the mouse does not slope but instead is substantially vertical. Thismakes many prior art mice easier to lift but provides no verticalsupport for the distal phalanges of the ring and little finger of theuser.

FIG. 4 provides a top view of mouse 100 showing several dimensions andlocations of interest to the present invention. In FIG. 4, mouse 100 hasa length 140 of between about 4.5 inches (11.43 cm) and about 5.5 inches(13.97 cm) with one embodiment having a length 140 of about 5.24 inches(13.30 cm). Casing 118 slopes upward from a front 101 and a back 103 toa high point 142 located a distance 144 from back 103 and a distance 146from front 101. In embodiments of the invention, distance 144 is betweenabout 2.25 inches (5.71 cm) and about 2.75 inches (6.98 cm) and in oneembodiment is about 2.58 inches (6.55 cm). Distance 146 is between about2.25 inches (5.71 cm) and about 2.75 inches (6.98 cm) and in oneembodiment is about 2.66 inches (6.75 cm).

Support slope 116 has a length 148 of between about 2.8 inches (7.11 cm)and about 3.4 inches (8.63 cm), and in one embodiment has a length 148of about 3.26 inches (8.28 cm). Mouse 100 has a concave shape at thumbpinching region 112 to insure that the user's thumb engages mouse 100from a neutral position or a position nearer to the palm of the handthan the thumb's neutral position. In this context, the neutral positionfor the user's hand or any of the user's digits is the position whereflexors and extensors of the user's hand are in equilibrium and staticloads on forearm muscles are small relative to normal loads associatedwith gripping objects. The inventors have determined that the concaveshape of the thumb pinching area shown in FIG. 4 places less stress onthe user's hand during mouse pinching.

A pinching width 150 is defined from thumb pinching region 112 to a ringfinger contact point 152 on support slope 116, where contact point 152is the average point at which the distal phalanx of a user's ring fingermakes contact with support slope 116 during pinching. This average pointis based on hand sizes ranging from a North American women's 5thpercentile, which represents women with small hands relative to otherwomen, to a North American men's 95th percentile, which represents menwith large hands relative to other men. Specifically, it is the pointwhere a hand equal to the mean hand size for North American adultscontacts the mouse. In this context, the mean hand size for NorthAmerican adults is about 7.2 inches (18.29 cm) from the wrist to the endof the middle finger. In the several embodiments of the invention,pinching width 150 is between about 2.25 inches (5.715 cm) and about2.95 inches (7.493 cm) and in one embodiment is about 2.6 inches (6.604cm).

Primary button 102, secondary button 104 and wheel 106 have averagecontact points 154, 156, and 158, respectively. For primary button 102and wheel 106, average contact points 154 and 158 represent the pointswhere the distal phalanx of the average user's index finger contacts thebutton or wheel, respectively. For secondary button 104, average contactpoint 156 represents the point where the distal phalanx of the averagehand's middle finger contacts secondary button 104. Contact points 154and 156 are a distance 160 from front 101 of mouse 100. Contact point158 is a distance 162 from the front 101. In one embodiment, distance160 is about 1.06 inches (2.69 cm) and distance 162 is about 1.12 inches(2.84 cm).

As shown in the front view of FIG. 5, contact point 158 is separatedfrom contact point 156 by a distance 164 and from contact point 154 by adistance 166. In one embodiment, distances 164 and 166 are both about0.63 inches (1.60 cm). Contact points 154, 156, and 158 are elevatedfrom the working surface by distances 168, 170, and 172, respectively.In the several embodiments of the invention, distance 168 is within arange of about 1.1 inches (2.79 cm) to about 1.4 inches (3.55 cm) anddistance 170 is within a range of about 1.0 inches (2.54 cm) to about2.0 inches (5.08 cm). In one embodiment distances 168, 170, and 172 areabout 1.24 inches (3.14 cm), about 1.0 inches (2.54 cm) and about 1.31inches (3.32 cm) respectively. Note that buttons 102 and 104 may bedepressed by contacting any point on the button, and the contact pointsdiscussed above represent the points where the fingers of an averagehand are most likely to contact the mouse.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the thumb side of mouse 100. In FIG. 6 a thumbcontact point 174 is shown in thumb pinching area 112. Thumb contactpoint 174 is the average contact point for the distal phalanx of auser's thumb while pinching mouse 100. In FIG. 6, thumb contact point174 is located a height 176 above the working surface and is a distance178 from the front of mouse 100. In one embodiment of the invention,height 176 is about 0.44 inches (1.12 cm) and distance 178 is about 2.25inches (5.71 cm). Height 176 is chosen such that the side of the distalphalanx of the user's thumb is does not contact the working surface.

Note that point 174 is below side buttons 108 and 110. This allows theuser to pinch mouse 100 without the risk of actuating either sidebutton. In fact, the bottom of button 110 is located a height 180 fromthe working surface to provide sufficient clearance for the users entirethumb in pinching area 112 so that the user's thumb does not contactbutton 110 when the distal phalanx of the thumb is in pinching area 112.In the several embodiments of the invention, height 180 is in the rangefrom about 0.69 inches (1.75 cm) to about 1.8 inches (4.57 cm) and inone embodiment is about 0.79 inches (2.00 cm).

Button 108 of FIG. 6 includes a contact point 182 where the averageuser's hand contacts button 108 to actuate the button. Contact point 182is located a height 184 from the working surface and a distance 186 fromfront 101 of mouse 100. In the several embodiments of the presentinvention, height 184 is in a range from about 0.85 inches (2.16 cm) toabout 1.15 inches (2.92 cm). In one embodiment, height 184 is about 0.95inches (2.41 cm) and distance 186 is about 1.78 inches (4.54 cm).

Button 110 includes a contact point 188 located a height 190 from theworking surface and a distance 192 from front 101. In some embodiments,height 190 is in a range of about 1.03 inches (2.62 cm) to about 1.33inches (3.38 cm). In one embodiment, height 190 is about 1.13 inches(2.87 cm) and distance 192 is about 1.927 inches (4.89 cm).

Button 108 and 110 together form a button shape 194, also referred to asa shaped button assembly, that is contoured to substantially fit orconform to the natural space between a user's index finger and theirthumb when their index finger is positioned on contact point 154 of FIG.5 and their thumb is positioned on contact point 174 of FIG. 6. Thefront of button 108 is located a distance 196 from the front of mouse100 and the back of button 110 is located a distance 198 from the frontof mouse 100, providing a length 200 for button area 194. In embodimentsof the invention, distance 198 is between about 2.05 inches (5.21 cm)and about 4.05 inches (10.29 cm) and distance 200 is between about 0.8inches (2.03 cm) and about 2.8 inches (7.11 cm). In one embodiment,distances 196, 198 and 200 are about 1.25 inches (3.17 cm), about 3.37inches (8.56 cm), and about 2.12 inches (5.38 cm) respectively.

Button 110 has a button height that extends from a lower edge at height180 to an upper edge at a height 202. In several embodiments, height 202is in the range of about 1.4 inches (3.56 cm) to about 1.9 inches (4.83cm). In one embodiment, height 202 is about 1.5 inches (3.81 cm) andheight 180 is about 0.788 inches (2.00 cm) providing a button height forbutton 110 of about 0.712 inches (1.81 cm).

FIG. 6 also shows that highpoint 142 of metacarpophalangeal ridgesupport 114 is at a height 204 from the working surface. Height 204 isbetween about 1.6 inches (4.06 cm) and about 1.9 inches (4.83 cm) and inone embodiment is about 1.7 inches (4.32 cm).

FIG. 7 provides a side view of mouse 100 showing support slope 116.Support slope 116 extends from a height 240 above the working surface tothe working surface. In one embodiment, height 240 is about 0.75 inches(1.91 cm). Contact point 152 in support slope 116 is located a height242 from the working surface and is located a distance 246 from thefront of mouse 100. In one embodiment height 242 and distance 246 areabout 0.38 inches (0.97 cm), and about 1.5 inches (3.81 cm),respectively.

Contact point 152 is located on support slope 116 so that the respectivedistal phalanges of the ring finger and little finger of the user aresupported by the slope while at the same time, the side of the distalphalanx of the user's little finger can contact the working surface.Support slope 116 eliminates dragging of ring and little fingers acrossworking surface, improving manipulation of the mouse 100. The width ofthe support slope 116 allows the user to register, if desired, with theworking surface using their little finger to obtain tactile informationabout the amount by which the mouse is moving. It also gives the usermore control in determining the speed at which the mouse moves.

The position of the contact point is also chosen so that the ring fingerdoes not interfere with the actuation of secondary button 104. Inparticular, contact point 152 is positioned far enough below ridge line250 of secondary button 104 that the user's ring finger does not contactbutton 104. In one embodiment, ridge line 250 is at a height 244 ofabout 0.66 inches (1.68 cm), which places the ridge line about 0.28inches (0.71 cm) above contact point 152.

FIG. 8 is a side view of wheel 106 in isolation. In one embodiment,wheel 106 has an outside diameter 398 of about 0.8 inch (2.03 cm) toabout 1.2 inch (3.05 cm), and in one embodiment is about 1.0 inch (2.54cm). The outer circumference has a surface consisting of a series ofribs or rounded ridges. In one embodiment, there are 120 ribs around thecircumference of wheel 106, with the centers of the ribs separated bythree degrees.

FIG. 9 provides an enlarged side view of a section 400 of one embodimentof wheel 106 showing two ribs 402 and 404 in detail. Each rib extendsfrom a center 406 to two respective peaks 408 and 410, giving each rib aheight 412. In one embodiment height 412 is about 0.02 inch (0.05 cm).

The cross-sectional shape of each rib can be described with reference tothe cross-sectional shape of rib 404, which is the combination of threecontiguous curves. The first curve is a quarter-circle 414 that startsat center 406 and continues to a point 416 at half the height of rib404. Quarter-circle 414 is based on a circle having a center locatedabout 0.16 inch (0.41 cm) above center 406. The second curve is a halfcircle 418 extending from point 416 to a point 420 on the other side ofrib 404 at a height equal to one-half the height of rib 404. Half-circle418 is based on a circle having a center located 0.16 inch below peak410. The third curve is another quarter-circle 422, which extends frompoint 420 to a neighboring center 424. Quarter-circle 422 is based on acircle having a center about 0.16 inch (0.41 cm) above neighboringcenter 424.

The ribs provided on wheel 106 increase friction between the wheel andthe user's finger without creating a surface that feels uncomfortable tothe user. In addition, because of the large number of ribs on thesurface, the user's finger feels as if it is in contact with a uniformsurface instead of a surface populated with widely spaced bumps orridges as in the prior art. Thus, the number and size of the ribs of thepresent invention provide increase friction making it easier to controlwheel 106 and improved tactile sensations making the wheel moreenjoyable to use.

Although only one rib shape is shown in FIG. 9, other rib shapes arewithin the scope of the invention and include shapes with more and lessrounded peaks and shapes with more and less rounded troughs between thepeaks.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to aright-handed mouse, those skilled in the art will recognize that aleft-handed mouse is within the spirit of the invention. Such aleft-handed mouse of the present invention is a mirror image of theright-handed mouse described above.

Although the present invention has been described with reference toparticular embodiments, workers skilled in the art will recognize thatchanges may be made in form and detail without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention.

1. A mouse input device for a computer system, the mouse capable ofbeing moved across a working surface to move a displayed object on acomputer display, the mouse comprising: an upper casing; a bottomsurface designed to face the working surface; a thumb pinching arealocated on a side of the mouse proximate the bottom surface; a primarybutton; a secondary button; and at least two side buttons located abovethe thumb pinching area in a direction away from the bottom surface,wherein the two side buttons comprise a forward button and a rearbutton, a majority of the forward button being closer to the front ofthe mouse than a majority of the rear button.
 2. The mouse of claim 1wherein the at least two side buttons are shaped to substantiallyconform to a space between a user's thumb and a user's index finger whenthe user's thumb is positioned on the thumb pinching area and the user'spalm is in contact with the contact point.
 3. The mouse of claim 1wherein a user's thumb avoids contacting the at least two side buttonswhen the user's thumb rests in the thumb pinching area.
 4. The mouse ofclaim 1 wherein the at least two side buttons comprise two outersurfaces and the upper casing comprises an outer surface, the outersurfaces of the at least two side buttons being substantially level withthe outer surface of the upper casing at all points along a boundarybetween the at least two side buttons and the casing.
 5. A mouse for acomputer system, the mouse comprising: a thumb gripping position locatedon a side of the mouse; a primary button positioned so as to be capableof being actuated by a user's index finger when the user's thumb islocated on the thumb gripping position; and two side buttons positionedso that a gap between the user's thumb and the user's index finger isreduced when the user's thumb is moved from the gripping position toactuate a side button while the user's index finger remains fixed on theprimary button, wherein the thumb gripping position comprises a surfacethat is substantially level with a surface of the one two side buttonsalong a boundary between the gripping position and the two side buttons,and wherein the two side buttons comprise a forward button and a rearbutton, the majority of the forward button being closer to the front ofthe mouse than a majority of the rear button.
 6. The mouse of claim 5wherein the two side buttons together form a shaped button assembly thatsubstantially conforms to the shape of a gap between the user's thumband index finger when the user's thumb is located on the thumb grippingposition and the user's index finger is positioned on the primarybutton.
 7. The mouse of claim 5 wherein the user's thumb registers witha working surface over which the mouse moves when the user's thumb islocated at the thumb gripping position.
 8. The mouse of claim 7 whereina space exists between the user's thumb and the two side buttons whenthe user's thumb is located at the thumb gripping position.